The invention concerns an apparatus for the cutting up of fish, fish fillets and the like in slices etc., comprising a feeding unit which comprises means for the feeding of the fish/fillets, said feeding unit conveying the fish/fillets to a cutting unit which cuts the fish/fillets in slices, and a unit which comprises means for the collection and processing of data. The invention also concerns a method of cutting up of fish/fillets and use of the method and the apparatus.
Different types of apparatus are known for the cutting of fish and fillets into slices. For example, there is known a German machine where the feeding of the fish/fillets takes place on a table which is moved in a rolling, upwards movement forwards to a cutting unit, and where the setting of the manner in which the cutting unit is to be activated is effected manually, in that the angle of the table and how the cutting unit is activated is controlled manually. This will give rise to a relatively great waste of fish and, moreover, it is not possible to achieve slices of uniform thickness and length, in that a given setting will result in the cutting unit being activated in a predetermined manner regardless of the dimensions of the fish/fillets, i.e. thickness and length.
From French patent application no. FR 2,627,423 and American patent publication no. U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,019, apparatus is known for the cutting up of e.g. fish in slices, and where each of which, comprises a measuring system for the measurement of uniform slices. However, these systems are relatively complicated, in that they comprise three-dimensional measuring units.
Moreover, the physical setting for achieving slices of a desired size is effected by regulating the angle of the knife in relation to the fish/fillet. This makes a subsequent automatic handling of the cut slices difficult, in that a gripping unit must be operated in relation to the position of the knife. A knife which thus changes position will make the subsequent handling difficult
In this connection it should be noted that the publications thus do not deal with the whole of the problem concerning how the slices after being cut can and should be handled afterwards. Thus the systems do not invite a fully-automatic cutting up of the fish whereby uniform slices are achieved, and where these slices can subsequently be handled and packed following a previous programme.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which is not encumbered with the disadvantages of the known apparatus, and which can operate in a fully-automatic manner from the moment that fish/fillets are placed on the conveyor and until the packed slices are transported away, and where there is achieved an automatic regulation of the angle of the table on which the fish/fillets are placed, so that the cut slices are uniform, and whereby a minimum of wastage occurs by means of a simple and uncomplicated measurement, and where the subsequent handling of the cut slices is effected automatically.
This object is achieved with the apparatus disclosed in claim 1, where the apparatus comprises means for the collection and processing of data, said means comprising means for the registration of the length of the fish/fillet in the feeding direction and/or of the weight of the fish/fillet, and in that the feeding unit comprises a plane on which the fish/fillet is placed and fed forward, said plane forming a settable and adjustable angle to the horizontal plane, means for the automatic adjustment and setting of the angle as a function of the length and/or the weight of the fish/fillet, and also a gripping device which comprises means for the handling of the slices from the area in which the cutting takes place.
The setting is thus effected continuously by a form of iterative process during the transport of the fish/fillets. In that the fish/fillets have an approximately uniform appearance and cross-section regardless of the length and weight, it is possible by simple registrations, such as registration of the length and/or weight of the fish, to ensure that the size of the slice remains the same by effecting an adjustment of the angle of the feeding table in relation to the actual cutting arrangement, and where the knife of the cutting arrangement forms an inclined angle with the fish/fillet itself during the actual cutting process and with the horizontal plane. The slice size is to be understood as the thickness measurement and the length measurement in the feeding direction. It will thus be the case that all other things being equal, the more plane the table is to the horizontal the longer the slice achieved.
The fish/fillets are thus placed on the conveyor where the length and/or weight of each fish/fillet is determined, in that it is assumed beforehand that in longitudinal cross-section the same species of fish/fillets have the same uniform shape. When a given size is desired, it is possible regardless of the length to effect a continuous adjustment of the angle of the conveyor during the cutting process, so that the length of the slice remains the same for a given thickness, i.e. the more inclined the setting of the conveyor in relation to the cutting knife, the longer will be the slice cut longitudinally to the fish/fillet. Consequently, during the cutting of a fish/fillet, it is possible to continuously adjust the slope of the fish/fillet in relation to the knife, said knife being placed stationary in the cutting direction in relation to the horizontal plane and preferably placed at an angle of 10-20xc2x0 in relation to this level. The slices are subsequently removed from the cutting area by means of a gripping arrangement, and are placed on a second conveyor with packaging.
By providing an apparatus according to the invention as disclosed in claim 2, the following is achieved. In that the length and/or weight of the fish/fillet is registered before activation of the cutting arrangement, the control unit is thus programmed with length and/or weight data which, together with data which arises via the means disclosed in claim 2, makes it possible to calculate when the cutting of the fish/fillet is finished. This results in the next fish unit being fed forward to the cutting arrangement, after which this fish unit is fed forward at that distance for which the machine has been set, and at that angle to which the plane is now regulated as a function of the dimensions and/or weight of the fish.
By providing an apparatus according to the invention as disclosed in claim 3 and 4, it is achieved that a slice which has been cut is removed quickly and effectively, unlike the known types of apparatus where the movement is exclusively linear. With the present invention, the movement consists of a combination movement where the movement pattern is partly linear and partly a turning movement whereby, all other things being equal, the interval of time necessary for the removal of a slice is considerably shorter.
By providing an apparatus according to the invention as disclosed in claim 5, it is achieved not only that the fish/fillet is secured in its position during the cutting, but also that the feeding takes place so that the fish/fillet is secured in its relative position on the conveyor.
The invention also concerns a method as disclosed in claim 8.
By using a method as disclosed, it is achieved that the fish/fillets are fed continuously to the cutting area where an automatic cutting of the fish/fillets is effected automatically. When the cutting has taken place, the slice is subsequently removed while at the same time the whole conveyor ensures that the fish/fillet which is being cut is moved the correct distance and at the right angle, so that with regard to thickness and length in the feeding direction, the next slice is of the same size as that slice which has just been cut.
At the moment that the cutting of the fish/fillet is finished, the conveyor describes a greater movement so that a new fish/fillet reaches forward to the cutting unit, in that the apparatus is arranged with a microprocessor which makes it possible to calculate, on the basis of the input it receives from various sensors and the data with which it is programmed, when the cutting of a fish/fillet is finished. Similarly, it can be calculated how long this new fish unit must be moved forward in steps and at which angle in order for the slices to be given the desired thickness and length.
In that a fish fillet does not have the same cross-sectional breadth area along the whole of its length, the angle for the same fish unit will typically be adjusted during the cutting, hereby ensuring the formation of the uniform slices.
There is hereby achieved a very continuous, automated process, where the dimension of the slices can be continuously regulated and with a minimum waste of fish/fillets, while at the same time a very high production speed is achieved, in that the cut pieces are immediately removed from the cutting area at the same time that the next piece is fed forward. Consequently, a minimum amount of time is wasted in connection with the process itself.